Amthal al-Arab
- Author died
- 168 AH
- Editions
- t Ihsan Abbas · T al-Hilal
Amthal al-Arab (Proverbs of the Arabs) is a collection of Arabic proverbs compiled by the Kufan philologist and transmitter al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi (d. c. 168 AH / 784 CE; other reports give 170 AH or 178 AH) . It is considered the earliest surviving specialized compilation of Arabic proverbs that preserves pre-Islamic sayings alongside their accompanying narrative origins .
Structure and Content
The collection is modest in size compared to later paremiographical works, containing approximately 160 to 170 proverbs, including around eight formulated on the comparative pattern afʿal min ("more ... than") . The text opens with the story of Dabbah ibn Udd ibn Tabikhah and his two sons, Saʿd and Saʿid, which gave rise to three proverbial expressions: A-Saʿdun am Saʿīd? ("Is it Saʿd or Saʿid?"), Inna al-ḥadītha dhū shujūn ("Discourse has branching paths"), and Sabaqa al-sayfu al-ʿadhal ("The sword has outstripped reproach") . The book concludes with the fable of the serpent and the axe, which yielded the proverb Kayfa uʿāwiduka wa-hādhā atharu faʾsik ("How can I return to you when this is the mark of your axe?") .
Between these framing accounts, the work records narratives centered on pre-Islamic tribal leaders, poets, sages, and fools, as well as accounts of major tribal conflicts (Ayyam al-Arab), including the War of Dahis and al-Ghabra and the War of al-Basus .
Method and Transmission
The book presents proverbs through etiologies, historical anecdotes, and fables that culminate in a pithy remark by a protagonist or antagonist, which subsequently gained proverbial currency . Al-Dabbi typically introduces these narratives with the opening formula zaʿamū ("they claimed"), though he occasionally states the proverb first before recounting its background . Direct source citations are rare within the text, though he transmits from authorities such as Abu al-Najm Habib ibn ʿIsa and Abu ʿAbd Allah Yazid . Subsequent transmissions incorporated later explanatory glosses and linguistic commentaries from philologists such as al-Kisa'i and Ibn al-A'rabi .
The primary line of transmission for the work traces back through al-Dabbi's student Ibn al-A'rabi, whose recension was transmitted across successive generations of scholars until it reached al-Andalus .
Reception and Editions
Amthal al-Arab served as a foundational source for subsequent compilations of Arabic proverbs . Extensive citations and adaptations of its material appear in later classical works, including the proverb collections of Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, Abu Hilal al-Askari, Abu Ubayd al-Bakri, and al-Maydani .
The work was first printed in Constantinople at Matba'at al-Jawa'ib in 1300 AH (1882 CE) . It was reprinted in Cairo in 1327 AH (1909 CE) and later published in Beirut in 1401 AH (1981 CE) with annotations and indexes prepared by Ihsan Abbas .
Answer updated